The winners of three of the past four National League Cy Young Awards square off at AT&T Park, as Roy Halladay and the Phillies take on Tim Lincecum and the Giants in the opener of a three-game series. The pair of aces have never faced off in a regular-season game, but they did meet twice in the 2010 NL Championship Series with each going 1-1.
While the Giants will have the ace of their rotation on the mound, they will be without the ace of their bullpen for the rest of the season. Closer Brian Wilson was placed on the disabled list Sunday and will have season-ending Tommy John surgery. Left-hander Javier Lopez and right-handers Sergio Romo and Santiago Casilla are expected to split the ninth-inning duties.
Both teams are off to somewhat disappointing 4-5 starts. The Giants had a three-game winning streak snapped by Pittsburgh on Sunday, while the Phillies salvaged the final game of their three-game set with the Mets with an 8-2 win.
TV: 10:15 p.m. ET, TCN (Philadelphia), CSN-BA (San Francisco)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Phillies RH Roy Halladay (2-0, 0.60 ERA) vs. Giants RH Tim Lincecum (0-1, 12.91 ERA)
Halladay put a rocky spring behind him quickly, flashing his dominance in his first two starts of the season. He has allowed only one run and seven hits over 15 innings. Halladay has struggled against the Giants though; he's 0-2 with a 7.23 ERA in three starts against them.
Lincecum is looking to regain his two-time Cy Young Award winning form after two rough starts to begin the season. His last was the shortest start of his career, as he lasted only 2 1/3 innings Wednesday at Colorado and allowed six runs and eight hits. The Phillies seem a prime candidate for a bounce-back outing — Lincecum is 4-1 with a 2.61 ERA in nine starts against them.
WALK-OFFS
1. San Francisco's Pablo Sandoval has hit safely in all nine games this season. Sandoval is 3-for-7 with a double against Halladay.
2. Lincecum has allowed five runs or more in three consecutive starts dating to last season, the first time in his career he has done so.
3. Current Giants players have a combined 175 plate appearances against Halladay, but Melky Cabrera has the only home run off him.